Connector assembly

ABSTRACT

THE INVENTION COMPRISES A PLUG CONNECTOR AND A MATING RECEPTACLE CONNECTOR WITH ONE OF THE CONNECTORS SECURED WITHIN A HOUSING. A PAIR OF LOCKING SPRING MEMBERS ARE SECURED AT ONE END TO THE HOUSING AND EXTEND GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF ITS ASSOCIATED MEMBERS AND TERMINATES IN A LIP-SHAPED MEMBER. THE OTHER CONNECTOR IS SECURED TO ONE END OF EACH OF A PAIR OF BRACKETS, THE OTHER ENDS OF THE BRACKETS EXTEND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF ITS ASSOCIATED CONNECTOR AND TERMINATE IN A RAMPSHAPED SECTION WHICH EXTENDS INWARDLY TOWARD ITS ASSOCCIATED CONNECTOR. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE LIP-SHAPED MEMBERS IS LESS THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE RAMPSHAPED BRACKETS. UPON MATING OF THE CONNECTORS, THE LIPSHAPED MEMBER RIDES UP THE RAMP INCLINE OF AN ASSOCIATED LOCKING RAMP BRACKET AND SNAPS INTO PLACE IN A POSITIVE ABUTTING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE RAMP INCLINE IN ORDER TO RESTRICT THE BACKING OFF OF THE MATED CONNECTORS. THE HOUSING TO WHICH ONE OF THE CONNECTORS IS SECURED IS USED TO HOUSE A CABLE CLAMP FOR PROTECTING CABLE WIRES FROM UNDUE STRAIN.

6.5. JOHNSON ET CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY Feb. 23,1971

Filed Aug. 50, 1968 V uuuuuuuuuiuvg FIG. 5.

IINV ENTOR S.

66 0,866 5. JOH/V50A/ 57J4/l/6V SCf/ACHA/OW A TTOE/VEV United StatesPatent 3,566,336 CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY George S. Johnson, Canoga Park, andStanley Schachnow,

Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to International Telephone and TelegraphCorporation, New York, N.Y., a

corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 30, 1968, Ser. No. 756,532 Int. Cl.HOlr 13/54 US. Cl. 339-91 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Theinvention comprises a plug connector and a mating receptacle connectorwith one of the connectors secured Within a housing. A pair of lockingspring members are secured at one end to the housing and extendgenerally parallel to the axis of its associated members and terminatesin a lip-shaped member. The other connector is secured to one end ofeach of a pair of brackets; the other ends of the brackets extendsubstantially parallel to the axis of its associated connector andterminate in a rampshaped section which extends inwardly toward itsassociated connector. The distance between the lip-shaped members isless than the distance between the rampshaped brackets. Upon mating ofthe connectors, the lipshaped member rides up the ramp incline of anassociated locking ramp bracket and snaps into place in a positiveabutting relationship with the ramp incline in order to restrict thebacking ofi of the mated connectors. The housing to which one of theconnectors is secured is used to house a cable clamp for protectingcable wires from undue strain.

The invention relates in general to a connector assembly and, moreparticularly, to a latching system for rapidly locking and unlocking apair of mating connectors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In conventional connector assemblies wherecable-tocable or cable-to-panel connections are to be made, a junctionshell is used to house a cable strain relief clamp. The strain reliefclamp protects the cable wires from undue strain such as when aconnector is disengaged from a mating connector. Further, conventionalconnector assemblies utilize separate latching devices, which are housedand operated independently of the junction shell, for securing aconnector and its mating connector together. Moreover, the latchingdevices either utilize a screw-lock assembly which requires much timefor assembly or a slide-lock assembly which requires numerous parts thatmust be machined to close tolerances. Where the latching mechanism hasbeen made integral with the junction shell housing, the latchingmechanism has heretofore been external to the housing, made itsusceptible to damage, and increased the dimension of the entireassembly.

In order to overcome the attendant disadvantages of prior art connectorlocking assemblies, the present invention provides an automatic latchingsystem which is achieved immediately upon full engagement of the matingconnectors. Further, the latching system may be incorporated in thejunction shell housing, thus, eliminating duplication of parts whereseparate junction shells and latching devices are used, therebyproviding an extremely compact latch lock junction shell.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION More particularly, the invention comprises aplug connector and a mating receptacle connector with one of theconnectors secured within a housing. A pair of locking spring membersare secured at one end to the housing 3,566,335 Patented Feb. 23, 1971and extend generally parallel to the axis of its associated members andterminates in a lip-shaped member. The other connector is secured to oneend of each of a pair of brackets; the other ends of the brackets extendsubstantially parallel to the axis of its associated connector andterminate in a ramp-shaped section which extends inwardly toward itsassociated connector. The distance between the lip-shaped members isless than the distance between the ramp-shaped brackets. Upon mating ofthe connectors, the lip-shaped member rides up the ramp incline of anassociated locking ramp bracket and snaps into place in a positiveabutting relationship 'with the ramp incline in order to restrict thebacking off of the mated connectors.

The advantages of this invention, both as to its construction and modeof operation, will be readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by references to the following detailed description whenconsid ered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which likereference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partlyin section of the connector assembly prior to mating of the connector;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the connector assembly of FIG. 1, partly insection, with the plug connector and receptacle connector abutting,prior to insertion of the plugs into the sockets;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the connector assembly of FIG. 1, partly insection, with the plugs partially inserted into the sockets; and

FIG. 4 is a top view of the connector assembly of FIG. 1, partly insection, with the connector assembly fully mated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,FIG. 1 shows a connector assembly generally designated as 10. Theassembly 10 includes a main housing 12 and a latching assembly 14. Themain housing 12 is essentially rectangular in shape and comprises a topwall 16, a bottom wall 18, and a pair of side walls 20. A conventionalplug connector 22 having a plurality of pins 24 and a pair of mountingflanges 26 is secured to support flange 28 of the housing 12 by means ofa screw 30 which is fastened by a nut 32. Normally, the housing 12 andflanges 216 and 28 are made of steel, brass alloy, or other metal whichreadily lends itself to stamping, drawing, or forming.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a pair of latch-spring locking mechanisms 34which are normally made of beryllium copper, but could also be made ofspring steel, are secured at one end to the inner side of side walls 20of the housing 12, near the rear end thereof by means of a rivet 36. Thelocking mechanism 34 extends toward the front end of the housing,essentially parallel to the axis of the connector 22, with the rearportion 38 of the locking mechanism normally abutting the side walls 20.The locking mechanism 34 further comprises a pair of release buttons 42which extend outwardly from the housing 12 through apertures 44 in theside walls. \Each of the buttons 42 is connected at one end to theforward end of the rear portion 38 by means of a first leg member 46which extends through the aperture 44 and which is integral with therear portion 38 and each of the buttons 42. The other end of each of thebuttons 42 is connected to a second leg member 48 which extends throughthe other end of the aperture 44 and is connected to the rear end of aforward portion 52 of the locking mechanism. The forward portion 52extends through an aperture 54 of the support flange 28; the forwardportion 52 forms a latch spring terminating in a lip-shaped portion 56;and the end section 57 of the lip-shaped portion extends laterallyoutward from the plug connector.

The latching assembly comprises a pair of generally right angle supportflanges 58 which are secured at one end 66 to a pair of support flanges62 by means of a nut 64 and bolt 66 arrangement. The support flanges 62are integral with a conventional receptacle connector 68 having sockets7 for mating with the pins 24 of plug connector 22. The other end ofsupport flange 58, which forms a locking ramp bracket '72, terminates ina generally V-shaped section 74; a ramp incline portion 76 of theV-shaped section 74 extends laterally inward toward the receptacleconnector 68.

Normally, the plug connector and receptacle connector are polarized forproper mating. Once properly polarized, as shown in FIG. 2, the endsection of the latch spring rides up the ramp incline portion 76 of thelocking ramp bracket 72, as shown in FIG. 3, and snaps into place in apositive abutting relationship, as shown in FIG. 4. However, it shouldbe noted that the end section 57 does not abut the ramp incline portion76 as depicted in FIG. 3 until after the plug and receptacle connectorsare partially mated and correctly polarized, thus, eliminating thepossibility of locking the connectors prior to having the connectorsproperly polarized and mated.

In the position shown in FIG. 4, the plug connector and receptacleconnector are fully mated, and the positive abutting relationshiprestricts the backing off of the mated plug and receptacle connectors.To unmate the connectors, the locking mechanisms 34 are released fromthe support flanges 58 by depressing the release buttons 42 which allowsthe latch spring to ride down the ramp incline as the assemblies aredisengaged.

Also contained within the main housing is a cable clamp 82. having amain clamping section 84 with ribs 86 for providing extra strength andrigidity to the clamp. Cables 88 are secured at one end to the plugconnector and pass through the clamping section 84 to a reduced openingcoupling section 90 into a wide mouth section 92 which is external thehousing. The coupling section 90 abuts the section 92 and is integraltherewith and passes through an aperture 94 in the end wall 95 ofhousing 12.

The clamping section 84 is positioned in the housing with respect to therear wall of the housing 14 by means of a pair of right angle brackets96 which pass through apertures 98 in the rear wall of the housing. Thebrackets are positioned at one end of the outer surface of the rearwall; the other end is integral with the flange 100 which is integralwith the clamping section.

After the cables 88 have passed through the clamping section 84, thecables 88 are held securely in the clamping section 8'4 by means of afirst screw 102 which passes through the top Wall 16 of the housing andsecond screw 104 which passes through the bottom wall 18 of the housing.The screws are flush-mounted on the housing, and alternate turning ofthe screws causes the cable clamp to open or close. Securely tighteningthe cable clamp prevents strain on the contact-to-cable terminationshould any stress be put on the cables external of the housing. Further,the enclosed cable clamp eliminates the safety hazard normallyassociated with cable clamps where the clamp actuating screws areexposed.

Further, while the latching system has been depicted for use withrectangular connectors, it should be understood that other shapes suchas circular connectors could be used. Moreover, while the assembly hasbeen depicted as a cable-to-cable connection, it should be understoodthat cable-to-panel connections could also be used.

Further, while the clamp has been shown as being internal of thehousing, it should 'be understood that the clamp could be mountedexternal of the housing, for example, by securing it to the end Wall 95of the housing.

Moreover, while the brackets 58 secured to the connector 68 have beendepicted as two separate brackets,

4 it should be understood, of course, that the brackets could be shapedinto a unitary structure.

It should be further understood that the foregoing disclosure relatesonly to the preferred embodiments of the invention and that it isintended to cover all changes and modifications of the examples of theinvention herein chosen for the purpose of the disclosure which do notconstitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electrical connector assembly having a plug connector and areceptacle connector; a device for locking said plug connector to saidreceptacle connector upon full engagement of said plug connector andsaid receptacle connector comprising; a housing member having means forsecuring one of said connectors to bracket means, said bracket meansextending substantially parallel to the axis of said connectors andterminating in substantially V-shaped sections of bent over sheet metaland having a ramp-shaped portion extending inwardly toward said one ofsaid connectors and whose end faces away from said other connector whensaid connectors are mated; a pair of locking springs, each spring beingsecured at one end to a housing, each of said locking springs beingassociated with one of said V-shaped sections, said locking springsextending generally parallel to the axis of said connectors andterminating in a lipshaped member whose end faces away from said oneconnector when said connectors are mated, said lipshaped member beingformed of bent over sheet metal; the distance between said lip-shapedmembers being less than the distance between said ramp-shaped portions,said lip-shaped member riding up the ramp incline of an associated rampportion upon mating of said connectors and snapping into place in apositive abutting relationship of the end aforesaid V-shaped section andthe end of the lip-shaped member, thereby restricting the backing off ofthe mated connectors.

2. A connector assembly in accordance with claim 1 and furthercomprising means for unlocking said assembly comprising a locking springrelease for causing said locking spring lips to move inwardly and ridedown the locking bracket ramp, said release forming an integral part ofsaid locking springs, thereby allowing the mated plug and receptacleconnectors to be separated.

3. A connector assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein said lockingsprings are secured at said one end within said housing member.

4. A connector assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein said plugconnector and receptacle connector initially mate prior to contact ofsaid lip-shaped members and said ramp-shaped members.

5. A connector assembly in accordance with claim 1 and furthercomprising cable clamping means positioned with respect to said housingmeans by brackets connected to said housing for securing cablesterminating in said connector so as to prevent strain on said cabletermination caused by stresses on said cable external to said housing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,315,213 4/1967 Fischer et al.33992 2,384,267 9/1945 Andersen 339-9l 2,484,525 10/1949 Norris 339-743,167,375 1/1965 Sarazen 33999 3,398,390 8/1968 Long 33991 3,408,61410/1968 Kuwahata 33991 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner I. H.MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 339-103

